House and Senate Journals

The House and Senate Journals contain the official proceedings of the House of Representatives and Senate. The Journals include the text of proposed amendments to legislation and record votes.
The Journals do not routinely contain transcripts of debates on bills; material such as speeches, statements of intent, parlimentary inquiries or other discussion may occasionally be included if members of the Legislature specifically asked that it be recorded in the Journals.

Printed journals for most sessions are available at the Legislative Reference Library, in law libraries around the state, and at the Dallas and Houston public libraries.

Recordings

Since 1973, the Texas Legislature has recorded most public committee hearings and House and Senate floor debates. Listening to these recordings may be helpful in compiling a bill's legislative history. To review or request recordings, locate the following dates in the
bill history:

Names of the House and Senate committees to which the bill was referred.

Dates the bill was considered by the committees in public hearing.

Dates of the second and third readings in the House and Senate

Online recordings of House hearings and debates are available for the 82nd Regular Session.

Online recordings of Senate hearings and debates are available for the 82nd Regular Session.

Recordings may be ordered through the mail or obtained in person at the House or Senate media offices:

Senate Tapes
Texas State Library Reference, Room 109
Lorenzo De Zavala Library and Archives Building
1201 Brazos Street
Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 463-5455 NOTE: Due to preservation concerns for the original cassette tapes, patrons are no longer able to listen to the original tapes. Digitized copies of the Senate recordings are available from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Transcripts

Transcripts of House and Senate sessions are available from the Texas Tribune.

Other helpful documents

A variety of sources can provide background material, analysis and historical perspective for legislation which may be useful to the researcher. The sources suggested below may contain useful information which is not directly linked to a bill number.

Legislative Reports

Legislative interim committees and special investigative committees may be assigned to conduct in-depth studies of significant issues, to review the effectiveness of new legislation, and to develop legislative proposals for upcoming sessions.

The Legislative Archive System is a work in progress. Complete information is not available for all bills and all sessions. Visit the Legislative Archive System status page for details. Please contact the Legislative Reference Library at 512-463-1252 if you have any questions.
Information on this website is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.